Refrigeration apparatus for motor



May 10, 1955 H. o. KIRKPATRICK REFRIGERATION APPARATUS FOR MOTORVEHICLES Original Filed Oct. 4. 1949 mwimuuk INVENTOR.

HENRY a. K/RAPA TRICK H "\vv Q L m W Q Q W mm \bm ductors 29, 30 and 31.

. rectification.

Re. 23,998 Reissued May 10, 1955 REFRIGERATION APPARATUS FOR MOTORVEHICLES Henry 0. Kirkpatrick, Chicago, Ill., assignor, by mesneasignments, to Union Asbestos and Rubber Company, Chicago, Ill., acorporation of Illinois Original No. 2,608,066, dated August 26, 1952,Serial No. 119,426, October 4, 1949. Application for reissue March 9,1954, Serial No. 415,188

6 Claims. (Cl. 62-4) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets II] appears inthe original patent but forms no part of this reissue specification;matter printed in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

This invention relates to a refrigerating apparatus for a motor vehicle.

It is an object of this invention to produce a refrigerating apparatusfor a motor vehicle which is adapted to receive its power from agenerator which is driven by the vehicle engine or a battery connectedtherewith while the vehicle is running and from a standard llO voltalternating current outlet when the vehicle is parked, such asovernight.

The invention generally contemplates a refrigerating apparatus having acompressor motor and an air circulating motor of the direct current lowvoltage type which are arranged to be connected for operation to aconventional storage battery on the vehicle or to a standard 110 voltalternating current outlet through a step down transformer and arectifier.

More specifically, the invention contemplates an electrical arrangementon a motor vehicle which includes a generator operated by the vehicleengine, a refrigerating apparatus, and two storage batteries arranged tobe maintained in a charged condition by the generator, one storagebattery providing the necessary current for the lights, ignition system,etc., of the vehicle, while the other battery provides current for therefrigerating apparatus when the current being developed by thegenerator is insufiicient to meet the needs of the refrigeratingapparatus, such as when the compressor motor is started.

The drawing shows a diagrammatic view of a refrigerating apparatus for amotor vehicle embodying my invention.

As is shown in the drawings, the refrigerating apparatus comprises aconventional arrangement which includes a compressor 10 for therefrigerant which is belt driven from a motor 11. The compressor outletis connected by a conduit 12 to a condenser 13 which is in turnconnected to a receiver 14 by a conduit 15. From receiver 14 therefrigerant is conducted by a conduit 16 through an expansion valve 17and thence to-an evaporator 18 through conduit 19. The outlet ofevaporator 18 is connected by a conduit 20 with the inlet of compressor10. An air circulating fan 21 driven by a motor 22 directs air from therefrigerated compartment (not shown).

against evaporator 18 so as to cool the air. Motors 11 and 22 aredesigned to be operated on direct current at low voltage, that is, atabout twelve volts.

The current generating source on the vehicle comprises a conventionalthree phase alternator 25 which is arranged to be driven by a belt 26from the crank shaft of a vehicle engine 27. Alternator 25 is of there-.

volving field type, the stator in which the current is generated beingconnected to a rectifier 28 by three con- Rectifier 28 is preferably ofthe dry plate type anddesigned for three phase, full wave the positiveand negativesides of the direct current line The output terminals of therectifier are,

is shunted across the line. The ignition terminal of voltage regulator32 is connected by a conductor 38 with the closing contact 39 of a relay40. The movable contact 41 of relay is connected with conductor 36 by aconductor 42. The armature coil 43 of relay 40 is grounded at one end asat 44 and is connected at its other end by a conductor 45 to one side ofan ignition switch 46. The other side of switch 46 is connected to thepositive side of a conventional six volt storage battery 47 by aconductor 48 through an ammeter 49. The negative side of battery 47 isgrounded as at 50 and the negative side of battery 35 is grounded as at51. The lighting circuit for the vehicle is connected with batteryconductor 48 as at 52. The ignition circuit for the vehicle engine isconnected to battery 47 beyond switch 46 as at 53 with conductor 45.

The field of alternator 25 is arranged to be excited by battery 35 whenignition switch 46 is turned on and is accordingly connected at one endto a load relay circuit (not shown) in voltage regulator 32 by aconductor 55. The other end of the field coil of alternator 25 isconnected to ground 23 by a conductor 56.

Compressor motor 11 is connected to battery 35 through a relay 60. Themovable contact 61 of relay is connected by a conductor 62 withconductor 36 and the closing contact 63 of relay 60 is connected withmotor 11 by a conductor 64. The armature coil 65 of relay 60 is groundedat one end as at 66 and connected at the other end by conductor 67 withone terminal 68 of a three pole. double throw switch 69. The other twoterminals on the same side of switch 69 are indicated as 70 and 71.Terminal 70 is connected with conductor 38 by a conductor 72 and aterminal 71 is connected with conductor 72 by a conductor 73. Athermostatic switch 74 is connected by conductors 75 and 76 in serieswith center terminals 77 and 78 of switch 69. The other center terminal79 of switch 69 is connected with fan motor 22 by a conductor 80. Motors22 and 11 are grounded as at 81 and 82 respectively.

For operating the refrigerating apparatus from a standard 110 volt A. C.outlet there is provided a pair of conductors 85 and 86 which may beprovided at one end with a convention plug (not shown). At their otherends conductors 85 and 86 are connected to the high side of a step downtransformer 87, the low side of which is connected to the input side ofa rectifier 88. The negative line of rectifier 88 is grounded as at 89while the positive line of rectifier 83 is connected by a conductor 90with a terminal 91 of switch 69 on the opposite side of terminals 68,70, and 71. The other two terminals of switch 69 on the same'side asterminal 91 are designated at 92 and 93. Terminal 92 is connected by aconductor 94 with one end of the armature coil 95 of a relay 96. Theother end of coil 95 is grounded as at 97. A conductor 98 connects themovable contact 99 of relay 95 with conductor 90, the closing contact119 of relay 95 being connected with conductor 67 by conductor .100.Terminal 92 of switch 69 is also 7 connected to one end of the armaturecoil 101 of a relay 102 by conductor 103. grounded as at 104.

tact" 105 connected with battery conductor 62 by a conductor 106. Theclosing contact 107 of relay 102 is connected with conductor 90. A relay110 has its armature coil 111 connected across conductors 85 .and 86 bymeans of a pair of conductors 112 and U3. The

movable contact 114 of relay 110 is connected with conductor 62 andbattery 35 by a conductor 115. Relay 110 has its closing contact 118connected with terminal 93 of switch 69 by a conductor 116., A fan 117is connected across conductors 112 and 113 and is arranged to coolrectifier 88 when conductors 85 and 86 are connected into a source of110 volt alternating current.

Alternator 25 is arranged to provide current for charging not onlybattery 35 but also battery 47. For this purpose there is provided aconductor 120 which is connected at one end to the positive conductor 33leading from rectifier 28 and at its other end to a resistance bank 121.Resistance bank 121 comprises two sets, of resistors 122 and 123connected in parallel with conductor 120, the total resistance ofresistors 122 being much less than the total resistance of resistors123. Both sets of resistors are connected in parallel to battery 47 by aconductor 124 and a relay 125. Conductor.124 is connected between theclosing contact 126 of relay 125 and battery conductor 48. The movablecontact 127 of relay 125 is connected by a conductor 128 with resistors123. Relay 125 has its armature coil 129 connected at oneend by aconductor 130 with conductor 45 and is grounded at the other end as at131. Resistors 122 are also connected with conductor 128 by a conductor132, a relay 133 and a conductor 134. Conductor 132 connects with themovable contact 135 of relay 133 and conductor 134 connects with theclosing contact 136 of relay 133. -Relay 133 is arranged to becontrolled by a voltage sensitive relay 138 having a movable contact 139connected by a conductor 140 with one end of the armature coil 142 ofrelay 133 and a closing contact 143 connected by a conductor 144 withconductor 128. The sensitive armature coil 145 of relay 138 is connectedat one end with conductor 144. Coils 142 and 145 are grounded asat 146and 147, respectively. The movable contact 139 of relay 138 is biased tothe closed position, the coil 145 of the relay being sensitive to the E.M. F. across battery 47 such that when the voltage across the batterydrops below a predetermined value, the current through coil 145 isinsufficient to ,hold the relay closed, and the movable contact 139 ispulled to close with contact 143.

When it is desired to operate the refrigerating apparatus 9 from battery35 and alternator 25, the handle of switch 69 is closed with thecontacts on the battery side of the switch and ignition switch 46 closedto enable starting of the engine. The closing of switch 46 closes acircuit from battery 47, through conductors 48 and 45 and the armaturecoil 43 of relay 40. When relay 40 pulls on position and switch 69closed with the battery side of the circuit. Thermostatic switch 74 islocated in the refrigerating compartment of the vehicle (not shown) andif the temperature of the compartment is above the setting of switch 74,current through conductor 72, which is connected with terminal 70 ofswitch 69, also flows through conductor 76, switch 74, conductor 75,terminals 77 and 68, and conductor 67 to the armature coil 65 of relay60. Relay 60 thereby pulls in and closes a circuit between battery 35 orvoltage regulator 32 and compressor motor 11 through conductor 62,contacts 61 and 63 of relay 60, and conductor 64. Compressor motor 11 isthereby set in operation. When the temperature of the refrigtratingcompartment falls to the setting of switch 74, switch 74 opens, therebyopening the circuit through coil 65 of relay 60 and the relay falls outto open the circuit to the compressor motor. It will 'be appreciated, ofcourse, that battery 35 supplies the extra current required when thecurrent through refrigerating apparatus.

. its seven volt rating, movable contact 139 of relay 138 is held bycoil 145 in the open position. Coil 145 is designed to hold contact 139in the open position as long as the voltage across battery 47 exceeds apredetermined value, such as, for instance, six and one-half volts.Therefore, during normal operation, when the E. M. F. across battery 47is more than seven volts, the circuit through resistors 122 is open andthe only current flowing from rectifier 28 to battery 47 and theignition and lighting circuits of the vehicle is that which flowsthrough resistors 123. When ignition switch 46 is closed a circuit frombattery 47 to relay 125 is closed through conductors 48 and 130 and coil124. This causes relay 125 to pull in so that a circuit is closedthrough conductor 120, resistors 123, conductor 128, contacts 127 and126, and conductors 124, 48 and to the ignition and lighting circuits ofthe vehicle. Resistors 123 are designed such that current flowingthrough the last-mentioned circuit is suficient at normal engine speedsto take care of the normal demands of the ignition and lighting circuitsof the vehicle. During normal speeds of the engine, this current amountsto about four amperes at seven volts.

When the engine of the vehicle is started or when an excessive load isplaced on the lighting circuit, it will be appreciated that the voltageacross battery 47 will be dropped below-a normal value. When thisoccurs, contact 139 of relay 138 will fall out and close with contact143. The current in the conductor 138 will then flow through conductor144, contacts 143 and 139, conductor 140, and through coil 142 of relay133. 'The closing of relay 138 thereby pulls in relay 133 which closes acircuit through conductor 120, resistors 122,

conductor 132, contacts 135 and 136, conductors 134 and 128, throughrelay 125 and conductor 124 to battery 47. Resistors 122 are designedsuch that the current flowing therethrough is greatly in excess of thecurrent flowing through resistors 123. That is, while the currentthrough resistors 123 is about 4 amperes, the current flowing throughresistors 122'is in the neighborhood of 30 amperes. This large currentserves to charge battery 47 back to its normal rating of seven volts.When the voltage across battery 47 approaches seven volts, movablecontact 139 of relay 138is pulled to the open position thereby openingthe circuit through resistors 122 and permitting the trickle charge toflow through resistors 123. 1 7

When the vehicle engine is stopped and it is desired to continue theoperation of the refrigerating apparatus, such as when the vehicle isparked overnight, the handle of switch 69 is shifted to close with thecontacts on the external power source side of the switch. With switch 69in this position, conductors 85 and 86' may be connected with a 110 voltalternating current outlet to operate the When conductors 85 and 86 areconnected with a source of alternating current, it will be noted that acircuit is closed through coil 111 of relay 110 and fan motor 117 byconductors 112 and 113. Relay 110 is thereby pulled in to close acircuit from battery 35 through conductor 115, contacts 114 and 118,conductor 116, terminals 93 and 79, andconductor to fan motor 22. Fanmotor 22 is therefore in continual operation when conductors and 86 areplugged into a source of alternating current. is closed, that is, whenthe temperature of the refrigerating compartment is above the setting ofthe switch,

When switch 74 through switch '74, conductor 75, terminals 77 and 92, p

and from terminal 92 through conductor 103 to coil 101 of relay 102. Thecurrent flowing through switch 74 also flows from terminal 92 throughconductor 94 and coil 95 of relay 96. The movable contacts 99 and 105 ofrelays 96 and 102 respectively are thereby pulled to the closedposition. The closing of relay 96 closes a circuit from the rectifierthrough conductors 90 and 98, contacts 99 and 119, conductors 100 and67, and coil 65 of relay 60. With relays 60 and 102 both pulled in, acircuit is closed from rectifier 88 through conductor 90, contacts 107and 105, conductor 106, contacts 61 and 63, and conductor64 tocompressor motor 11. When the temperature within the refrigeratingcompartment falls to the setting of switch 74, relays 96, 102, and 60fall out and thereby open the circuit to the compressor motor andbattery 35.

[claim:

[1. A refrigerating apparatus for a motor vehicle of the type having arefrigerating compartment comprising an alternator arranged to be drivenby the engine of the vehicle, a rectifier connected with the output sideof said alternator, a refrigerating apparatus on said vehicle, a directcurrent motor for operating said refrigerating apparatus, said motorbeing connected with said rectifier for operation by said alternator, afirst battery connected with said rectifier and said refrigeratingapparatus motor, said vehicle including an ignition and a lightingcircuit connected with said rectifier, and a second battery connectedwith said rectifier and said ignition and lighting circuits, saidbatteries each being arranged to be charged by the current supplied bysaid alternator] [2. The combination set forth in claim 1 includingelectrically actuated means connected with said second battery andoperative to connect and disconnect said first battery with saidrefrigerating apparatus motor and switch means for controlling thesupply of current to said electrically actuated means, whereby saidfirst battery is prevented from supplying current to said motor unlesssaid switch means is actuated to permit current to flow from said secondbattery to said electrically actuated means] [3. The combination setforth in claim 1 including a thermostatic switch between said motor andsaid first battery and alternator for controlling the flow of currentfrom said first battery and alternator to said motor, said thermostaticswitch being responsive to the temperature of said refrigeratingcompartment for opening and closing the circuit including said firstbattery, said alternator and said motor] 4. A refrigerating apparatusfor a vehicle of the type having a refrigerating compartment and alighting and ignition circuit designed to be operated on a low voltagecomprising a refrigerating apparatus in said refrigerating compartment,a direct current motor for operating said refrigerating apparatus, saidmotor being designed for operation at substantially higher voltage thanthe voltage requirements of said ignition and lighting circuit, analternator adapted to generate current at the voltage requirements ofsaid motor, a rectifier connected with the output side of saidalternator, means connecting said motor with the direct current side ofsaid rectifier, a battery having a normal voltage corresponding to thevoltage requirements of said motor, said battery being arranged tosupply current to said motor and to be charged by said alternator, asecond battery having a normal voltage corresponding to the voltagerequirements of said lighting and ignition circuit and connected withsaid lighting and ignition circuit for supplying current thereto, andmeans connecting said second battery with said rectifier for chargingsaid second battery from said alternator, said last mentioned meansbeing arranged to reduce the voltage supplied to said second batteryfrom said alternator and to control the current supplied to said secondbattery in accordance with the load on said lighting and ignitioncircuit.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4 wherein said last mentionedmeans comprises means forming a normally closed circuit of highresistance between said second battery and said alternator, meansforming a normally opened circuit of low resistance between saidalternator and said second battery, the resistance of said circuit ofhigh resistance being such that the current flowing through said circuitfrom said alternator is sufii cient to meet only the normal demands ofsaid lighting and ignition circuit, the resistance of said lowresistance circuit being such that the current flowing therethrough fromsaid alternator is relatively large as compared with the current flowingthrough said high resistance circuit,

and means responsive to the voltage across said second battery forclosing said circuit of low resistance when the voltage across saidsecond battery falls below a predetermined value.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein said means for closingsaid low resistance circuit comprises a voltage sensitive relay in saidlow resistance circuit having an armature coil connected with saidsecond battery.

7. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein said high and lowresistance circuits are connected in parallel between said battery andsaid alternator, said means for closing said circuit of low resistancecomprising a voltage sensitive relay in said low resistance circuithaving an armature coil connected to said second battery, said relayhaving a pair of normally open contacts providing a break in said lowresistance circuit, said contacts being arranged to close when thevoltage across said second battery falls below said predetermined'value.

8. A refrigerating apparatus for a motor vehicle of the type having arefrigerating compartment comprising an alternator arranged to be drivenby the engine of the vehicle, a rectifier connected with the output sideof said alternator, a refrigerating apparatus on said vehicle, a directcurrent motor for operating said refrigerating apparatus, said motorbeing connected with said rectifier for operation by said alternator, afirst battery connected with said rectifier and said refrigeratingapparatus motor, said vehicle including an ignition and a lightingcircuit connected with said rectifier, a second battery connected withsaid rectifier and said ignition and lighting circuits, said' batterieseach being arranged to be charged by the current supplied by saidalternator, electrically actuated means connected with said secondbattery and operative -to connect and disconnect said first battery withsaid refrigerating apparatus motor and switch means for controlling thesupply of current to said electrically actuated means, whereby saidfirst battery is prevented from supplying current to said motor unlesssaid switch means is actuated to permit current to flow from said secondbattery to said electrically actuated means.

9. A refrigerating apparatus for a motor vehicle of the type having arefrigerating compartment comprising an alternator arranged to be drivenby the engine of the vehicle, a rectifier connected with the output sideof said alternator, a refrigerating apparatus on said vehicle, a directcurrent motor for operating said refrigerating apparatus, said motorbeing connected with said rectifier for operation by said alternator, afirst battery connected with said rectifier and said refrigeratingapparatus motor, said vehicle including an ignition and a lightingcircuit connected with said rectifier, a second battery connected withsaid rectifier and said ignition and lighting circuits, said batterieseach being arranged to be charged by the current supplied by saidalternator, a thermostatic switch between said motor and said firstbattery and alternator for controlling the flow of current from saidfirst battery and alternator to said motor, said thermostatic switchbeing responsive to the temperature of said refrigerating compartmentfor opening and closing the circuit including said first battery, saidalternator and said motor.

References Cited in the file of this patent or the original patentUNITED STATES PATENTS 1,892,617 Honey 1 Dec. 27, 1932 1,943,966 HulseJan. 16, 1934 1,966,164 Clark July 10, 1934 8 Frese Apr. 21, 1936 CandorIan. 4, 1938 Sargent Apr. 26, 1938 Frese NOV. 1, 1938 Murphy Mar. 19,1940 Von Ohlsen May 26, 1942 Alexander Jan. 25, 1944 Nims May 9, 1950Alexander Feb. 13, 1951

